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ANOTHER BLOOMIN’ PLAN TOHELP OUR COMMUNITY FLOURISHA Joint Comprehensive Plan for Candler County andTown of Pulaski, GeorgiaJuly, 2017
Another Bloomin’ Plan to Help Our Community FlourishA Joint Comprehensive Plan for Candler County and Pulaski, GeorgiaA Joint Comprehensive Plan for Candler County and the Town of Pulaski, Georgia, inaccordance with the Georgia Planning Act of 1989 and the Minimum Planning Standards andProcedures established by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs with an effective dateof March 1, 2014Prepared By:The Candler County Joint Comprehensive Plan Coordination CommitteeThe Candler County and Pulaski Local GovernmentsHeart of Georgia Altamaha Regional CommissionJuly, 2017
Candler County HistoricalSociety MuseumHistoric Pulaski StorefrontsHistoric Candler County Farm SceneWarren Peanut CompanyPulaski Baptist ChurchHistoric Home, PulaskiInterstate 16Metter-Candler County I-16Industrial Park Entrance
Table of ContentsIntroduction and Executive SummaryCommunity GoalsCommunity VisionPulaski Municipal DescriptionCommunity GoalsLong Term Community PoliciesNeeds and OpportunitiesNeeds and OpportunitiesEconomic DevelopmentLand UseCommunity Work ProgramsCandler CountyReport of AccomplishmentsCommunity Work Program, 2018-2022Town of PulaskiReport of AccomplishmentsCommunity Work Program, 2018-2022MapsCandler County Existing Land UseTown of Pulaski Existing Land UseCandler County Future Land UseTown of Pulaski Future Land UseAppendixCommunity 6772738889
Candler County-Pulaski Joint Comprehensive PlanINTRODUCTION AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARYAnother Bloomin’ Plan to Help Our Community Flourish -- The Candler CountyPulaski Joint Comprehensive Plan is a comprehensive plan prepared under the currentMinimum Planning Standards and Procedures of the Georgia Planning Act of 1989 adopted bythe Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) first with an effective date of January 1,2013, and after minor changes, an effective date of March 1, 2014. It is a joint plan for CandlerCounty and the Town of Pulaski. The City of Metter chose to develop its own separatecomprehensive plan.Candler County is a small, rural county in Southeast Georgia of about 11,000 personswith an excellent location along I-16 about 75 miles west of the Savannah port. While the countyis one of Georgia’s relatively new counties having been established in 1914, the community hasa rich history steeped in agrarian traditions and associated with transportation, communityleadership, and civic involvement. The community has always been known for its familyfriendly, small-town atmosphere, its openness to progress and economic development, itsattention to education, and its overall high quality of life. These attributes continue to serve thecommunity well as its schools are top-notch with graduation rates higher than the state average;its local telephone company deploys high-speed broadband internet service countywide to bothbusinesses and households; there are nationally recognized historic districts; and the citizenryremains caring and involved. Although the county’s municipalities trace their beginnings to theadvent of the Central of Georgia Railway, today the impetus for growth lies with the locationalong I-16, and particularly the Georgia 121 and I-16 interchange which is within the city limitsof Metter; the existing high quality of rural life; and the resulting attractiveness of thecommunity for both residents and businesses. The Town of Pulaski is a very small town of about300 persons full of beauty, charm, and history located near Bulloch County and east of Metteralong Georgia Highway 46. Its close-knit community atmosphere functions as an extendedfamily, which holds much residential appeal. The town, full of historic homes and pastoral openspaces, is quaint, quiet, and soul-soothing. Access to modern amenities; supportive economic1
Candler County-Pulaski Joint Comprehensive Plandevelopment and entrepreneurship; leadership and a citizenry which continue a long heritage ofcaring, involvement, and civic responsibility; and a surrounding, scenic countryside tapestry ofongoing and high agriculture and forestry function are all superlative community descriptors.They enable the community to remain a compelling and attractive place to live, work, visit, orplay.Candler County was an early leader in the Primitive Baptist Church movement andcontains one of the oldest, Lake Church, in the country. The county contains an early communitycreated to serve as the location of a school, the Excelsior Academy. Its first newspaper in thearea, The Excelsior News, was established to advance civic interests of religion, education, andthe general community. The community’s current newspaper, The Metter Advertiser, was firstestablished by the municipality of Metter, to solicit support for the establishment of CandlerCounty itself. Metter itself is known for its tree-lined avenues planned and laid out by one of itsvisionary leaders. The community enjoys one of the most beautiful golf courses in SoutheastGeorgia for a community of any size, Willow Lake Golf Club, as a result of civic leadership. Thelocal telephone company, Pineland Telephone, is a regional leader in broadbandtelecommunications, and has deployed high speed internet service, not only throughout CandlerCounty, but to surrounding communities as well. The community is home to the world renownedGuido Gardens, Guido Bible Institute, and the “Seed from the Sower” broadcasts. There is muchnatural beauty and several ecological sanctuaries and nature preserves within the county,including the first in Georgia, the Charles Harrold Nature Preserve, now owned by The NatureConservancy.Candler County and Pulaski offer much appeal on many levels, from its beautifulenvironments, peaceful countryside scenes, stately homes, caring neighbors, and family-friendlyatmosphere to its location, outstanding schools, and modern amenities. The community has new,modern schools functioning at a high level as evidenced by its low drop-out and extraordinaryhigh graduation rates. There is a local hospital and general aviation airport with a 5,000 footrunway. Recreation facilities and other infrastructure continue to be upgraded and improved. Thefire department, including the Pulaski station, enjoy Class 4 and 4Y ratings, exceptional for asmall community. The Candler County community truly is an impressive community regardless2
Candler County-Pulaski Joint Comprehensive PlanHistoric Lake ChurchHistoric Pulaski DepotCandler County Agricultural SceneNature Trail, Candler CountyRecreation ComplexCandler County HospitalMetter High School Entrance Sign3
Candler County-Pulaski Joint Comprehensive Planof size with outstanding character, much family-friendly and entrepreneurship appeal, and rarelyequaled community spirit and civic consciousness. The community does strive for excellence inquality, caring, and overall quality of life. The community desires its comprehensive plan tocontinue to guide and move forward its noted and long-standing traditions for involvedleadership and excellence in civic life and responsibility. Candler County will continue to exhibita quality of life and development almost unheard of for such a small community. Candler Countywill welcome new business and industry and new residents and visitors while maintaining itsinnate traditions, outstanding character, and small town atmosphere. It will be an impressiveoutlier for a small, rural community, a much desired address for business and residents alike, andthe envy of much larger communities. The community will continue to bloom and flourish as thisplan takes the name of its long-running festival in a heartfelt manner.While there is much to celebrate and be optimistic about both existing and future growthand development within the community, there are issues requiring attention. Over seventeen (17)percent of Candler Countians are 65 or older, compared to about 13 percent in Georgia. Morethan a fourth (28.1 percent) of the population lives in poverty, compared to 17 percent inGeorgia. Incomes overall are low. Per capita money income in the county, as measured by theCensus Bureau from 2011-2015, ( 16,897) is only about two-thirds (66 percent) that of Georgia( 25,737). The county median household income for the same period ( 30,185) is about 61percent that of Georgia ( 49,620), even more of a discrepancy. Unemployment in the county was4.9 percent, as an annual average in 2016, relatively low compared to the surrounding area, andactually lower than Georgia’s 5.4 percent, but employment within the county has been relativelyflat since 2012. Such statistics have resulted in Georgia still ranking Candler County as a 2017Job Tax Tier 1 county. While this ranking is for Georgia’s bottom 40 percent or so of countiesneeding an economic boost, it has the advantage of offering Georgia’s largest tax breaks for jobcreation within Candler County, and thus a big incentive for business job creator entities andfurther economic improvement. Candler County’s economic issues are somewhat hidden instatistics because of its proximity to the much larger regional economic center ofStatesboro/Bulloch County.4
Candler County-Pulaski Joint Comprehensive PlanThe future Candler County will continue to take advantage of its assets and opportunities,and address its issues. It will continue to be at the forefront of rural family-centric living and ahigh quality of life with progressive leadership, and an involved and caring citizenry. Thecommunity will be a desired address for both business and residential growth, and an outstandingplace to live, work, recreate, or visit. Growth will be well managed and guided to locate near theexisting infrastructure and services of Metter, and will be respective and protective of existingcharacter, and the community’s fields, forests, open spaces, and its unique and special naturaland cultural resources. The community will truly be recognized as a unique and special place ofrural development and life known for its envious and coveted quality of life, its urban-likeamenities, its progressive leadership and civic consciousness, and its growing economy whichrespects and maintains its outstanding character and small town atmosphere. Many more willenjoy living, working, playing, and doing business in Candler County as it continues to bloomand flourish.The current DCA planning standards reduced and simplified requirements seeking toengender local plans more attentive to individual needs and generating more local pride,ownership, and use. This Candler County-Pulaski Joint Comprehensive Plan was developed withthis as an overarching objective. It was intended to be a locally driven plan principallyaddressing local needs and cultivating widespread community interest, support, and buy-in,while meeting state standards. Even the title of this plan was chosen carefully to stimulate andencourage interest, reading, and implementation. “Another Bloomin’ Plan to Help OurCommunity Flourish” widely captures reference to Candler County’s long-running festival andto further capitalize on the community’s rich history and heritage, natural and historic resources,its advantageous location, its superior transportation resources, and to its future aspirations. Thiscertainly should generate more curiosity and interest, and hopefully, more ownership andutilization, than the more bland “The Joint Candler County-Pulaski Comprehensive Plan.” TheCandler County community, including Pulaski, wants to protect its heritage and rural character;enhance its growing and diversifying economy, conserve its fields and forests and naturalsplendor; improve its infrastructure; attract new residents and retirees; locate businesses andcompatible jobs; utilize and celebrate its natural resources and heritage; and grow tourism,among its guiding aims and principles outlined herein. The community truly wants to be a5
Candler County-Pulaski Joint Comprehensive Planrecognized address of exceptional rural life, overall quality-of-life, and progressive leadershipwelcoming of both business and residents alike.Previous Plans. This comprehensive plan is the third within the County prepared underthe auspices of the Georgia Planning Act of 1989. The first was adopted in 1991, and the secondin 2007. Both of these previous plan efforts were intensively data and state requirement driven,although local objectives are outlined and portrayed. The second plan does contain some localinformation which may not easily be found elsewhere and may remain of use. These last plansshould remain, at least in hard copy, available from the Candler County local governments andthe Heart of Georgia Altamaha Regional Commission. At the time of this plan preparation, the2007 plan is available in digital format on the state (www.georgiaplanning.com) and region(www.hogarc.org) websites.Data. The emergence of the world wide web with its vast data repositories accessiblethrough free search engines allows anyone easy access to significant amounts and a wide varietyof data, and profiles of any jurisdiction, including Candler County and its municipalities,including Pulaski. For this reason, this comprehensive plan includes only limited data to depictor illustrate points. The current DCA planning standards actually encourage such non-inclusionof data. Almost any data depicted at a moment in time quickly becomes dated, and maybeirrelevant. The world wide web offers the opportunity of more relevant and up-to-date data at thetime of access.There are a variety of reliable public and private sources of data. Of course, thetraditional source of official community data is the U.S. Census Bureau. Data on CandlerCounty, its municipalities, or any other jurisdiction is quickly accessed at census.gov/quickfactswhich provides a summary community profile on many popular data items, and links to evenmore data. Another quality source of data is the website, www.statsamerica.org, which providesa compilation of primarily government data on many items for any county, city, or town in anystate of the U.S. The site is maintained by Indiana University in partnership with the federalEconomic Development Administration. The University of Georgia maintains awebsite, georgiadata.org, where county snapshots, detailed county profiles, and county level data6
Candler County-Pulaski Joint Comprehensive Planfor nearly 1,300 variables related to a wide variety of subjects on population, labor, naturalresources, government, health, education, transportation, crime and more can be accessed. Thedata can be compared to other counties and the state as well as on a historical change basis,among various user options. The data is compiled from a variety of sources, including TheGeorgia County Guide and the Farmgate Value Report prepared by UGA’s Extension Service.The Georgia Department of Community Affairs has available data for cities and counties under“Community Planning Resources,” and will also prepare community data reports whenrequested. The State of Georgia has official labor and economic data in its Georgia Labor MarketExplorer as organized by the Georgia Department of Labor at explorer.gdol.ga.gov. Additionalstate sponsored economic data is available at www.georgia.org. Excellent overall private datasources include www.city-data.com, www.usa.com, and datausa.io;while headwaterseconomics.org is an excellent source for socioeconomic information, includingdata and interpretation through its economic profile system.Population Projections. The official 2010 Census population of Candler County was10,998, up by almost 15 (14.8) percent from 2000’s 9,577. This growth was less than that ofGeorgia’s 18.3%, but more than 50 percent greater than that of the national U.S. rate of 9.7%.This growth rate meant Candler exhibited the fourth greatest population percent change from2000-2010 of counties in the Heart of Georgia Altamaha Region, and when prison populationgrowth is discounted, had the second highest Region percent change. Candler County’s location,its proximity to I-16, Statesboro, and the Savannah port; its current economic base; itsoutstanding natural and historic resources; its family-friendly atmosphere; its progressive andadaptive leadership; and its high overall quality of life portend well for the future. The U.S.Census Bureau estimate for 2016 Candler County population is 10,910, down by 88 personsfrom 2010. This suggests stability and very little current growth, but in some sense less of a localdevastation by the great recession of the late 2000s than many rural places. The high mark ofpopulation in Candler County is now, having grown significantly since 1970 (and I-16). Before1970, there was a long period of decline from 1920 to 1970 in county history. Candler County’slocation, its rich history, progressive leadership, community spirit, abundant historic and naturalresources, strong agricultural economy, existing businesses and entrepreneurship, high quality of7
Candler County-Pulaski Joint Comprehensive Planlife, and easy access to Statesboro, larger metro areas, and Georgia’s ports are positive factorsand influences for continued future growth and development.While past and present population levels are readily available on the world wide web,population projections are not so easily accessed. The Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget(OPB) is responsible for generating official state population projections for Georgia counties.Current OPB projections for Candler County from 2015 are 11,710 persons in 2030 and 11,864persons in 2040, showing little growth. The Heart of Georgia Altamaha Regional Commission(HOGARC) also prepares population projections which have proven to be relatively accurate inthe past. HOGARC’s population projections for Candler County, as noted in the 2013 RegionalAssessment of its Regional Plan, show significantly higher projection population levels than thecurrent OPB projections. More recent Regional Commission projections, which take into accountlower 2016 Census estimates, still project greater growth, even at reduced levels, than the OPBprojections. These latest Regional Commission projections include 13,379 in 2030 and 15,094 in2040. Relatively slow, but steady, population growth should be expected and taken into planningaccount.Population Projections, Candler County2010201620202025203020352040OPB, 201510,998N/A11,29011,52511,71011,81611,864HOGARC Regional l 94Sources: State Office of Planning and Budget, 2015, Meaghan Ryan email, 2017; Heart of GeorgiaAltamaha Regional Commission Regional Plan, Regional Assessment, 2013; Heart of Georgia AltamahaRegional Commission staff projection, 2017.Coordination with Other Plans. Candler County has an approved and adopted hazardmitigation plan prepared for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to remain eligible forfederal disaster assistance. This Hazard Mitigation Plan’s preparation was coordinated with pastcomprehensive plan preparation. It is clear that the two most prominent hazards facing CandlerCounty that can be influenced by the comprehensive plan are the hazard mitigation plan goals toreduce damage from flood hazards and wildfire, and thereby protect life and health. The8
Candler County-Pulaski Joint Comprehensive PlanDowntown Metter ParkL.C. Anderson Memorial LibraryWalking Track, I-16 Industrial ParkCandler County Agricultural SceneMetter-Candler AirportLinzer Products Corporation9
Candler County-Pulaski Joint Comprehensive Plancomprehensive plan objectives to conserve the county’s river and stream corridors, to maintainhealthy working forests and fields (including employing proper management techniques), toimprove fire/emergency management and other public safety services, and to enhance growthmanagem
local telephone company, Pineland Telephone, is a regional leader in broadband telecommunications, and has deployed high speed internet service, not only throughout Candler County, but to surrounding communities as well. The community is home to the world renowned Guido Gardens, Guido B
